Two long-standing mall stores will close their doors for good by the end of the month.

American Eagle Outfitters, which opened its mall store in 1988, will close at the end of business Saturday while Gap, which opened in 1999, will close on Tuesday, Jan. 26.

The mall was informed months ago that stores’ parent companies would close some of their stores, said Swansea Mall Marketing Manager Susan Patterson.

“In both cases, the tenants’ leases were up and they decided not to renew,” Patterson said. “It has been publicly reported by both retailers that they are closing under-performing stores.”

American Eagle Outfitters, with 950 stores across the country that targets youths 15 to 25 years of age, has a 3,825-square-foot store at the mall. Its Web site revealed no intention of closing any stores, but that was not the case with Gap. According to the Gap Web site, the company expects to close about 50 store locations in fiscal year 2009, which ends this month. The Swansea Mall Gap store measures 6,200 square feet.

“The decision to close a store is always a difficult one. We are constantly evaluating our store fleet to ensure we have the right stores in the right locations to best serve our customers,” said Gap spokeswoman Catherine Rhoades. “We hope our customers will continue to shop with us at nearby stores or online.”

In addition to the former Apex store — which was once eyed by Kohl’s and measures 91,000 square feet — the two closings will put the mall’s available rental space at just over 101,000 square feet.

“Our leasing team is diligently working to find a replacement for these sites soon,” Patterson said. “Yes, they have been at the mall a long time, but it was not our decision to not renew their leases. There were public announcements that both chains were going to close under-performing stores and these were two of them.”

Officials from American Eagle Outfitters did not return calls or e-mails seeking comment Wednesday.